Kari Lake Vows to Take Arizona Governor’s Defeat to State Supreme Court

Election denier Kari Lake vowed to take her gubernatorial loss lawsuit to the Arizona supreme court after it was thrown out a second time Thursday, less than two months after it was thrown out by a Maricopa County judge.

The ruling by the Arizona Court of Appeals, the second and penultimate tier in the state’s judicial system, was the latest loss for Lake, who lost the race to be Arizona’s next governor in December by some 17,000 votes.

Immediately, the 53-year-old former Phoenix journalist blamed the loss on voter fraud and filed a lawsuit alleging problems with printers and Election Day protocol cost her a victory over Democrat Katie Hobbs.

His case hinged on the belief that election officials in Maricopa County, which served as the epicenter of the voter conspiracy, according to Lake, committed the wrongdoing at the behest of Hobbs and the local government.

The case was thrown out by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson the day before Christmas, prompting Lake to file an appeal, which was thrown out for lack of evidence on Thursday.

“We are NOT done,” Lake wrote in a tweet late Thursday that came moments after Arizona’s taxpayer-funded Court of Appeals said it was rejecting the lawsuit, citing that Lake’s team filed no complaints. evidence that cast doubt on the former. decision

Trademark Lake, who has been adamant that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, too, is taking his third straight loss in stride, and took to social media to tell his followers that he is far from done challenging Hobbs for victory.

“We are NOT done,” Lake wrote in a tweet late Thursday that came moments after Arizona’s taxpayer-funded Court of Appeals said it was rejecting the lawsuit, citing that Lake’s team filed no complaints. evidence that cast doubt on Thompson’s ruling. .

Lake would go on to confirm the meaning of the cryptic statement, referencing his earlier assertions that he would pursue his case all the way to Arizona’s highest court, if necessary.

“I told them we’re going to take this case all the way to the Arizona Supreme Court, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Lake told his more than 931,400 followers, ending the tweet with the text “Buckle up, America.” , for good measure.

The case was thrown out by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson the day before Christmas, prompting Lake to file an appeal. At the time, the lawyer said he was dismissing the case due to a “lack of evidence”: a ruling by Appeals Court officials said they agreed with

Katie Hobbs, the winner of last month’s gubernatorial election, slammed the lawsuit, which alleged officials conspired to give her away the election, as “unfounded” and a waste of taxpayer money.

The post also included a link to his so-called ‘Save Arizona Fund,’ a fundraiser he started to help pay legal bills in his quest to provide evidence of a failed election. It’s unclear how much money the campaign has raised so far.

Earlier in the day, officials at the Arizona Court of Appeals explained their reasoning behind their rejection of Lake’s lawsuit, which claimed that the machines that tabulated votes on Election Day “intentionally” failed, without keeping track of the vote. case to trial.

“Your request for relief fails because the evidence presented to the high court ultimately supports the court’s conclusion that the voters were able to cast their ballots, that the votes were counted correctly, and that no other basis justifies setting aside the results of the elections,” said the state’s second. explained the supreme court.

The lawsuit, filed Dec. 19, alleged that officials in Maricopa County, where Lake spent several years as a news anchor at Phoenix Fox affiliate Fox 10, tampered with the machines, violating federal and state laws. It has now been released twice

“Lake’s arguments highlight the difficulties of Election Day, but his request for relief fails,” the opinion further stated, leaving Lake, who has refused to budge despite a lack of evidence, with limited options for a additional resource.

Lake ultimately has two options: file another appeal at the state level and wait for the court to reach a different conclusion than the previous two, or cut his losses and pursue a new path in politics.

The lawsuit, filed Dec. 19, alleges that officials in Maricopa County, where Lake spent several years as a news anchor at Phoenix Fox affiliate Fox 10, tampered with the machines, violating federal and state laws.

Lake called the election a “failure” and a “sham” and sat in Maripoca Superior Court through the two days of proceedings, but did not testify, before the case was dismissed.

Three months later, Lake and his legal team have been unable to provide any meaningful evidence. that supports your claims the malfunctioning of the machines and printers led directly to her losing votes.

Officially, Lake lost to Hobbs, who served as Arizona’s 21st secretary of state before taking over as governor last month, by more than 17,000 votes.

Hobbs, who has since taken over as state governor, called the lawsuit “baseless” in a post on Twitter, calling it the “last desperate attempt to undermine our democracy and undo the will of the voters.”

The lawsuit named both Maricopa County and Hobbs as defendants, prompting the now-gov. to criticize the ‘unfounded’ lawsuit in a post of his own on Twitter,

He added in a follow-up post, while legal scholars were still listening to Lake’s argument: ‘Voters have made it clear that they want their leaders to work together to solve problems. Arizonans have charged me to do just that, and I’m ready to work as the next Governor of Arizona.

The secretary of state’s office also called the lawsuit a “sham,” criticizing Lake as a media personality seeking her 15 seconds of fame.

The Adrian Fontes administration wrote in the scathing statement: “Lake Kari needs attention like a fish needs water.”

Other detractors, including Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Clint Hickman, argued that the political newcomer lacks the evidence to support even the mildest of her accusations.

“Not only do Claimant’s allegations fail to support the finding that she is entitled to receive enough votes to change the outcome of the election, they also fail to show a single illegal vote, any miscounting of votes, or that Defendant involved election officials. in any misconduct,’ attorneys for the Maricopa County Prosecutor’s Office wrote about the lawsuit in December.

On Thursday, Hickman was one of many who celebrated the Arizona Court of Appeals’ rejection of Lake’s claims, which included that his county conspired to gift Hobbs the election.

“As we’ve said, every valid vote was counted in a near-record turnout midterm election,” Hickman said in a statement Thursday, adding, “It’s time to move on.”

Lake now has a chance to file an appeal, though it could take months for the court to hear his argument. The politician will have no more resources if that offer is also denied.